2of2Warren High School student Trey Lealaimatafao (left) gets some help from his mother Diana Lealaimatafao (right) with his new jersey Wednesday November 20, 2013 during a ceremony at Warren High School honoring and celebrating Lealaimatafao's being chosen to participate in the 2014 U.S. Army All-American Bowl. The game is Saturday January 4, 2014 at the Alamodome.Photo: JOHN DAVENPORT, SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS

Warren's Trey Lealaimatafao and Brennan's Grant Watanabe have only known each other six years, but they call each other “cousin.”

They met playing against each other in a middle school football game and realized they shared a Polynesian heritage. They've been cousins ever since.

“That's the way of our culture,” Watanabe said. “Family doesn't have to be blood.”

That was apparent Tuesday as their families got together at the Watanabe home for dinner and pani popo, a traditional Samoan dessert made with bread rolls and coconut milk.

Family members laughed as Lealaimatafao and Watanabe put on traditional Polynesian garb and dueled playfully on ukuleles.

“We're close friends, and we're Polynesian so we have to stick together,” Lealaimatafao said.

Lealaimatafao's father, Semaia, is from Samoa, and his family moved to the United States when he was 3.

Watanabe traces his roots to Samoa, Tonga and Hawaii.

That cultural background is rare in San Antonio.

Of the more than 1.3 million San Antonians enumerated in the 2010 U.S. Census, just 1,097 categorized themselves as native Hawaiians or other Pacific Islanders.

But while their numbers are small, Polynesians have made a big impact on football.

There were 60 players of Polynesian descent in the NFL last season. Five played in the Super Bowl.

A “60 Minutes” report in 2010 said a Samoan boy is 56 times more likely to get into the NFL than Americans.

“It's different,” Watanabe said. “It has its expectations being Polynesian and playing football. I like it because it's different, and I get to show off a culture that many people don't know about.”

Players such as the late Junior Seau and the Steelers' Troy Polamalu have been the high-profile faces of Polynesians in the NFL.

Watanabe has a direct connection to the NFL — his cousin is former Chiefs tight end Tony Moeaki.

Polynesians' reputation for producing top-notch football players has trickled down to the high school level.

Dallas-Fort Worth football power Euless Trinity has won three state championships since 2005 with a strong nucleus of players of Tongan descent.

Lealaimatafao, a 6-foot-2, 300-pound defensive tackle, has committed to Texas.

Watanabe, a linebacker, is 5-11 and 227 pounds and committed to Colorado. Both said their heritage caught recruiters' eyes.

“Definitely,” Lealaimatafao said. “When they see my last name, they know.”

Both are tenacious defenders with a bit of a nasty streak. They fit the mold of what many believe describes typical Polynesian players.

Off the field, though, they say they couldn't be any different.

“People see Samoans and think we are mean,” Lealaimatafao said. “We hit, and we are crazy on the field. But, when we are off the field, we are humble, calm people.”

Watanabe added: “You have to have the instinct to know when to turn it on and turn it off. People think we're crazy because of the way we play. We are not really crazy people.